A RAFT of Liverpool favourites will pull on red shirts once again next Saturday to help Jamie Carragher celebrate his glittering Anfield career.

Carragher’s eagerly-awaited testimonial game against Everton takes place on September 4 and the Liverpool side that will line up against the Blues will feature several faces who shared in some of the defender’s greatest moments.

Michael Owen and Emile Heskey will reprise their double act from the treble winning season of 2000/01, wearing the numbers – 10 and eight respectively – with which they were synonymous during that glorious campaign.

Steven Finnan, a mainstay of the teams that won the Champions League in 2005 and the FA Cup 12 months later, will slot in on the right side of Liverpool’s defence, while Jerzy Dudek – one of the heroes from an unforgettable night in Istanbul – will stand between the posts once more.

Danny Murphy will be pulling the strings in midfield, while Stephen Wright, Stephen Warnock, David Thompson and Jason McAteer will be involved, as will Jamie Redknapp; commitments overseas, unfortunately, have prevented Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler from taking part.

Everton boss David Moyes has promised to pick a strong team for the game, which kicks off at 2pm, and it is understood that attempts have been made to see if Duncan Ferguson – with whom Carragher enjoyed many fierce battles – will pull on a blue shirt again.

In the directors box, meanwhile, a number of faces who helped nurture Carragher from promising novice to world class defender will be evident, as men such as Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez, Ronnie Moran, Hughie Macauley, Phil Thompson and Roy Evans have been invited.

Tickets are selling well for the contest – it is the first time since Bruce Grobbelaar’s benefit game ended in a 2-2 draw in October 1992 that Liverpool and Everton have faced each other in a testimonial – and every penny raised will go to charities in Merseyside through the 23 Foundation.

Tickets can be bought from the tickets offices at both Anfield and Goodison and also from the Liverpool Club Shop at Liverpool One in the city centre.

There will be free entry to all members of the armed forces from Merseyside who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq and a number of tickets have gone to the 1,900 charitable organisations in the region.

The theme of the day will be very much centred towards family and Carragher is hoping to see the stands packed with youngsters; in keeping with that, every member of Liverpool and Everton’s Academy have been invited

Carragher, who has made 635 appearances for Liverpool since coming on as a substitute against Middlesbrough in January 1997, is also holding a gala dinner at the Echo Arena convention centre and 20 tables have been added to the original floor plan of 60 due to demand.

Again, all money will go to charity and the night will be hosted by John Bishop; music will be provided by James Walsh from Starsailor, Ian Broudie, The Coral and The Bluetones, while among the unique auction prizes are two Gold discs donated by Noel Gallagher.

Tables of 10 cost between £2,000 and £4,000, while there is also an opportunity to buy single seats, the prices of which range from £200 to £400; all enquiries should address to Stacey Koks by emailing info@23foundation.com or calling 0151 236 2025.